Kohli fined for throwing the ball in anger

Ajay Naidu

Centurion, January 16

On the field or off it, Virat Kohli never seems to be out of action. He’s bursting with energy, and his celebrations when opposition wickets fall show his passion and aggression. Indeed, the animated reactions from the captain make for good TV.  However, there are times when he goes over the top and invites the ire of the officials. Match referee Chris Broad today pulled up Kohli for “unsporting behaviour” during yesterday’s play.

The incident happened when the umpires decided to resume play after a rain-break, and Kohli wasn’t happy that his bowlers had to bowl with a wet ball since the outfield wasn’t completely dry. In a fit of rage, Kohli threw down the ball, much to the dislike of umpire Michael Gough. Kohli was penalised 25% of his match fee.

There’s no denying that the Indian captain clearly crossed the line on this occasion. He needs to be a bit more careful because Broad has a history with Indian cricketers. Last year during the Bengaluru Test, Broad did not censure Australia captain Steve Smith when Smith was caught looking towards his team’s dug-out for a signal on whether to review an out decision against him. Smith dismissed it as a ‘brainfade’. The Indian camp was shocked when Broad spoke with the Australian media about this incident.

Harbhajan Singh once jokingly told this writer that he never bowled a ‘doosra’ in a series in which Broad was the referee because he was wary that Broad would find fault with his action.

As for Kohli, he often gets very emotional on the field because winning is not everything for him — it’s is the only thing! Even his opponents respect him for that. “Virat is very competitive. I think it’s just his nature and it gets him, and his team, going,” remarked Morne Morkel. “We are all aware of it and, as a team, we try not to take much notice of it.”